


Girl Talk

by User_needs_a_Username



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Abandonment, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Dark, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Evil, Family, Fear, Fear of Death, Friendship, Gen, Hurt, Hurt Edward Elric, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Injury, Kidnapping, Pain, Parental Maes Hughes, Parental Roy, Parental Roy Mustang, Parenthood, Sad, Sadism, Torture, Violence, Whump, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:48:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27114235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/User_needs_a_Username/pseuds/User_needs_a_Username
Summary: This is NOT just for girls. Don't be fooled by the title.Edward is in shock and disbelief at his newest assignment. He's sure Roy's teasing him because Mustang can't seriously be sending Ed undercover to an all-girls' school to track down a murderer, right? (Contains kidnapping and descriptions of mutilated bodies) NO PAIRINGS! Probably will contain parental RoyEd.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric & Roy Mustang, Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric & Team Mustang, Alphonse Elric & Roy Mustang, Alphonse Elric & Team Mustang, Edward Elric & Maes Hughes, Edward Elric & Roy Mustang, Edward Elric & Team Mustang, Maes Hughes & Roy Mustang
Comments: 44
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Forgot to post this a few day back. I can't remember what day it's for. But it's blackmail.
> 
> And I'm working on a oneshot for "shoot the hostage". That will be fun

"Uh, Colonel, I think you may have mixed up the mission files or something because there is no way you've got the right one here." Edward scanned the contents once more and was even more certain of the fact that this was not for him.

"What do you mean, Fullmetal? I'm very certain that I gave you the right folder. What makes you think otherwise?" His commanding officer was smirking. This was a joke. He was messing with him.

"Haha. Very funny, Colonel. It's too bad you never got me." Edward offered up the folder to him.

The Colonel laughed in his annoying way, not taking it from him. "Except that I'm not joking. That's your assignment."

"Seriously, Colonel. What's my real assignment?" Edward asked, actually a little scared that this wasn't just a game that Mustang was playing on him.

"That's it."

"You've got to be kidding me... Mustang if this isn't a joke I'm going to punch you!"

"The school uniform is in my desk drawer," the Colonel said with a smirk on his face.

"I'm not doing it! No way! You can't make me!" Edward was glaring at him.

"You don't have a choice. If you don't remember, I'm your commanding officer," Mustang warned.

"I don't care. No way in hell am I going to do it."

"You will." Mustang looked more serious now. He wasn't joking.

"No!" Edward refused to ever do that. He wasn't joking either.

"It's only until we catch the guy responsible," Mustang assured like that would help any.

"That could be like forever and even if it isn't, I'm not going to be doing it. Not even for a day!"

Mustang sighed. He shook his head. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Fullmetal."

"I'm not doing it!"

"You are or I'll have you court-martialed."

"I don't care. It's embarrassing!" Edward complained. He was shaking his head.

"Fullmetal, don't forget that I know what you and your brother did."

Edward stiffened. His expression darkened. "That's blackmail, Bastard!!"

"I don't see it as blackmail. I see it as-"

"I don't care what you see it as! It's blackmail!" Edward growled.

They were both locked in a staring contest that did all the talking. "Fine, give me the uniform, Bastard."

Edward stormed out of the office with his new uniform under his arm after Roy had pulled it out from the drawer it was stashed in. "Damn you," he was muttering on his way out the door.

\---

Roy would never really have told Edward and Alphonse's secret to anyone. He wouldn't ever intentionally put those two boy's lives in mortal danger anymore than he already was. He didn't think that sending those two to their deaths, or worse, was very honourable.

He watched as Edward stormed out of the room in a huff of anger. He was definitely ticked. Rightfully so of course.

Roy knew he was being a bastard about it, but Fulmetal was so easy to rile up. It would be less amusing if Edward's reaction hadn't been so laughable. He chuckled, almost apologising silently.

\---

"No way." Edward glared at the school uniform. "No way in hell."

"Brother, it's not too bad," Alphonse tried to reassure as he stifled a giggle.

"It has a skirt! A dawn skirt!! I bet that bastard did that on purpose!" Edward fisted his right hand. "I'm going to give him a million bruises so that his whole body is purple and blue and black and red," Edward plotted in dark tones.

"Brother, stop being so violent," Alphonse chastised.

"It's an all-girls' school, Al!! All girls." Edward frowned deeply

"I know. You told me several times. Now go get dressed. You don't want to be late for your very first day of school." Alphonse picked up Edward's uniform and tossed it at him. He was barely able to hold back his giggles.

"Maybe I do want to be late. I don't want to go," Edward groaned miserably. "Why me? Couldn't he send in someone to act as teacher or something? Hawkeye would be great! NOT ME!!"

"I don't know, Brother, but there isn't anything we can do about it now."

"I could just ditch," Edward suggested.

"No, you can't, Brother."

Edward sighed. He knew Alphonse was right. At least the uniform was a shade of red and not pink or purple or other girly colours. It wasn't the same shade he wore but it was good enough if he had to suffer.

\---

Roy came to pick Edward up from the dorms and couldn't help but laugh at the sight of his subordinate climbing out a window to avoid being seen by anyone.

He was obviously never informed that it was unladylike to climb out a window, especially when in a skirt (luckily he wore a pair of shorts under said skirt).

"Fullmetal, I hope you at least remember to cross your legs when you sit down!" Roy called from his seat in the car.

Edward slipped the last few feet after jumping a little in surprise at the voice.

"Damn, Colonel! You could've killed me!" Edward shouted as he brushed off his deep red skirt and long-sleeved cream blouse with the school's crest on the left breast pocket. The bottons were a mess and not in their right places.

"It wasn't even five feet, Fullmetal. Stop being so dramatic, and fix your blouse."

Roy smirked as Edward came up to the car, pulling on a pair of shiny black classical girls' shoes with a silver buckle. The only reason Edward wasn't putting up too much of a fight about the shoes was because there was at least an inch and a half of heal, which was about where the limit went for the school, and made him look taller just like his platform boots did.

"Can I give a pretty lady a lift?" Mustang teased.

"You disgusting pervert. I'm going to smack you. You should be ashamed of yourself!" Edward shouted. He crossed his arms as he slid into the front seat. He was muttering something about untrustworthy bastards and that someone was going to wish they were dead.

He started fixing his blouse next, though he was still muttering.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch," Roy said jokingly as he chuckled.

"I'll kill you."

"Alphonse would never let you do that."

Edward huffed. "I mean, he doesn't need to find out. I can make it look like an accident."

"I'd like to see that." Roy laughed.

"That might be a problem if you're dead, but, you know, have fun trying." Edward turned his head away and for the first time, Roy noticed a small white bow was tied at the bottom of the kid's plait. He laughed into his hand and started driving.

They were driving for about ten minutes before Roy decided that it was time to explain what was going to be happening. And what had happened...

"Fullmetal, so as the assignment makes clear, we're dealing with a murderer..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These will probably be more spread out in updates, but I will do all the prompts in order!
> 
> Sorry for the wait. I finished last night but couldn't upload the chapter.

"There have only been five disappearances, but those are five little girls who are or probably are dead. Three of them were found dead. They were found on the grounds of the school, and it's believed that they never left."

"So you think it's a worker there?" Edward asked solemnly.

"Yes. We believe so. We don't have any suspects yet, though."

"Why couldn't someone just send an investigation team to figure it out?" Edward asked as if that was the most obvious thing out there.

"The school has asked for our help silently." Mustang's face twisted disgustedly. "Apparently it's bad for business if people are aware that their daughters might be murdered at any time."

"Why hasn't anyone said anything?"

"The military likes the school too much," Roy answered.

"Why?" Edward asked, genuinely curious why anyone would care for a school more than another. They were all hell, were they not?

"Let's just say large donations to the military will help you get in their good favour." Roy rolled his eyes.

"Great. Just great." Edward was frowning deeply. "What about the girls? They haven't slipped up in front of their parents that their fellows are going missing and ending up dead?"

"Only phone calls."

"What?" Edward asked, beginning to guess.

"The students live on school grounds. They only get to call their parents unless there is a scheduled visit. Also the deaths have been kept pretty much under wraps." The Colonel was frowning. "You won't be able to give reports unless you give them in code. And even then it's risky."

"Great, so I'm not keeping you in the loop. I can do whatever I want. How fun." Edward had a sly smirk creep onto his face.

"No, it's risky, but we will have you keeping us in on the loop. I don't trust a hair on your head." Mustang was the one smirking now.

"Geez, Colonel, that's hurtful!" Edward rolled his eyes. "So what's the code?"

I gave you a letter. It shouldn't be too hard to crack. Once you know the code destroy the letter. Don't let anyone find it before you do that," Mustang sternly ordered.

"Yeah, got it."

"And you have a book that has some more information in it. The information is written on papers that have been slipped in. And it's written in a colour-code which you should easily crack. We don't really have much to go on quite yet, so don't expect to find much in them. There aren't any real patterns yet to go by."

"This is going to take forever," Edward groaned. His eyes widened a second later. "I get to call Al, right?"

"Yes, you will have the chance to talk to your brother."

Edward sighed and relaxed. "Oh, good."

"Now about your role. You're supposedly a prodigy and have been placed in a class that is pretty high for your age. Hawkeye set it up, so I'm not sure yet."

"I didn't know this school went up so high in education."

That's when the Colonel began laughing. "Oh, and just so you know, you're undercover as a ten-year-old."

"Wait! What?!" Edward turned sharply and glared at Roy. "You're kidding. I can't pass for a ten-year-old!"

"Girls mature before boys in most cases. We had to lower your age." Mustang was chuckling.

"You, Bastard! I didn't have to have my age lowered! You just want to mess with me!" Edward shouted in anger. "I could have passed for older than ten!"

"No, you couldn't have. You don't have much on top."

"Damn you!! I'M NOT SHORT YOU BASTARD!!!" Edward's face was twisted in fury.

Mustang was laughing hard and uncontrollably. "Th- that- that wasn't wha- what I meant!"

"Wait, then what did you mean?" Edward asked in confusion.

"You don't- you don't have-" He couldn't finish. He pulled to the side of the road to park so that he could laugh all he wanted without risking a crash.

"What is it?! What are you laughing about?! Tell me what's so fun-" Edward's face went bright red. It was not limited to just his cheeks. "You pervert!"

"Come on, Fullmetal. I- it's not like you've got any, so we ha- had to make you younger."

"I- I hate you." Edward hid his blushing face behind his hands. "Just drive already!"

Roy started the car, still laughing and giving Edward some important information about the person he was pretending to be as they drove down the road.

"Hey, Fullmetal, before we get there you need to practice a realistic girly voice that you can recreate. And from here on out, I'll be calling you Edeline."

"That sounds so wrong," Edward replied as soon as he heard the name.

"Talk like a girl."

Edward was silent for a minute before he replied in a more feminine voice. It was still a little deep, but it was feminine and that's what was important. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm not your subordinate."

"Yes, but you are my daughter."

Edward froze. "...What was that?"

"You're undercover as my daughter, Edeline Mustang."

"No way! No way in hell! Stop the car. I'm out of here. I'm not pretending to be your daughter!" Edward shouted, utterly horrified. His voice lost the feminine tone.

"It's too late for that, Edeline. You've already been enrolled as my adoptive daughter."

"Colonel Bastard, turn around right now. I'm going back." Edward was glaring at him.

"Fullmetal, we've gone over this. You don't have a choice in the matter. And you need to call me "Dad".

Edward looked away. He stared out the window but didn't say anything.

"Do you understand me, Edeline?"

Edward nodded, continuing to look out the window silently.

\--- 

Edward didn't want a father. But there was something hurtful about remembering that this was fake. It was like remembering that no one ever really wanted him.

He didn't blame them. Why would anyone want a mess like him? Alphonse was a sweet kid, so if someone wanted him that wouldn't be a surprise.

Edward was the baggage.

As soon as this mission was over the Colonel would leave just like his father had. Edward was no more than a tool.

He had to admit that he was tired of people leaving, though, he would never blame them.

He was looking down darkly. Edward knew he shouldn't care. He didn't even want the Colonel to act like his father. But it hurt to be rejected so many times.

He was scared that he would never have anyone who cared enough to stay. He could never know if Alphonse really wanted to stay or if he felt bad, so he stayed. Edward didn't want that, but he also didn't want to find out that Alphonse hated him.

He was scared of that too.

He was scared that Alphonse would leave him too, after finally realising how messed up he was.

And he was scared that he might someday feel like he had a family with the Colonel and his team, only for it to be ripped away.

It was easier to not let them in.

He wouldn't have to be afraid that they would leave because of him.

He wouldn't have to ever be scared that every person he ever loved was playing him and would walk away when they got bored enough.

If he kept his emotions under control he wouldn't have to be scared.


	3. Chapter 3

"Edeline, we really are delighted that you will be joining our school." One of the teachers by the name of Ellen Evans was giving them both a simplified tour of the school. She had long mousy brown hair that was tied up in a low ponytail. Her green eyes were a warm leaf green.

Edward glared at the Colonel, though it was weaker than usual. "Yeah, who wouldn't want to join East City's School for Bright Girls?"

"Exactly," The woman replied, obviously not noticing the exchange going on between them. "Now, I'll show you the class rooms to begin with and then take you to the cafeteria, before leading you and your father to the dorms. We have set you up with a sweet girl by the name of Mae Shaina. I have no doubt that you two will be great friends."

"Thank you, ma'am," Mustang said with a warm smile.

The woman smiled and blushed, but they kept moving. "Oh, and, Edeline, I'm aware that with the way your adoption took place you had most of your previous belongings taken away, but the school will provide you with a few extra uniforms in the colours: navy blue, forest green, and black. And your father can bring you some casual clothing that you can wear on the weekends. It will be fine for you to wear your uniform, but they must be clean for school days."

"Oh, thanks," Edward said, consistently sticking to his fake voice. "Are there any uniforms with pants?" He asked, praying that she would answer with a yes.

"I'm afraid not." The woman glanced at his legs, already knowing why Edward asked. "We don't mind if you would prefer to wear a tight fitting leg covering of some sort with the skirts. If you would like that, you can talk to your father about it."

"It's fine, ma'am," Edward answered as respectfully as possible. "I wouldn't be able to wear them. The shape would still be wrong."

"I'm sorry to hear that. But you shouldn't get anything more than questions about it. The girls here are very respectful of each other."

Edward doubted that. He saw their looks of disgust as they walked by. That wasn't exactly respect they held.

"I am grateful that you are willing to take her now. I'm aware that it can be quite annoying to take on a new student a third of the way into the school year. Thank you, though," Mustang said with a smile on his face. He put a hand on Edward's shoulder and they continued walking along.

The woman nodded with a warm smile. "We're glad to have her here. I really hope she enjoys her time here with us."

Edward listened with disinterest to the rest of the tour, walking along silently.

He sighed as they left the cafeteria through a back door.

"This is the flower garden. It's a path to the dormitories. The garden has several entrances but if you look at the stones, you will notice that they are pointed at one end much like an arrow. The arrow will always lead you to the dormitories, but Mae will be happy to show you around, going into more detail." She lead them into the dorms, guiding them up the stairs of the building to get to Edward and Mae's room. "I'll take my leave now. And feel free to stay a while, Colonel Roy Mustang. Mae will open the door for you but you will find a key on the empty bed in there. That is for you, Edeline. I'll leave you to introduce yourselves so that I won't be there awkwardly."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Roy said with a smile again.

The teacher left Edward to knock at the door and wait a moment as his new roommate scrambled to get it open. "Oh, Geez, I'm sorry! That took me a little longer than planned." The girl's smile was bright.

Edward took her in. She had short natural ash blonde hair that went right to her jaw. Her eyes were at first glance a murky grey but looking a little longer, you could see that the colours were a tiny bit different. Edward only noticed because he was used to studying things hard. One eye was a blue-grey while the other was a blue-grey-green shade.

"You've got beautiful eyes."

Edward jumped. He looked at the girl in shock, almost thinking that she was talking about what he was thinking.

"I've never seen anyone with gold eyes. They're very pretty. I wish my eyes were like that."

Edward blushed slightly in embarrassment. He didn't mean to blurt out what he said next. He just didn't want the focus on him. "You have pretty eyes too. Your left is a little greener while the right is more grey!" Edward blushed even more.

_Wow, good one! Now she probably- no, definitely- thinks you're a creep!_

She was giggling at Edward's red face. "You're right, though. No one ever notices."

They stood like that for a minute awkwardly.

"Oh, come in. Sorry. I'm Mae, and you are?"

"Ed-" he cut himself of when he almost said "Edward". "Um, Edeline. My name's Edeline." Edward stepped past her into the room as Mustang followed. It was a large room. Two beds were put on either side of the room as well as a desk at the end of the bed. A large dark wardrobe was against the wall to Edward's right. To his left was an identical wardrobe painted a bright white. He could see how bare in comparison the right side looked and assumed that that was his area.

"Cool! I was really excited about a new roommate..." She got awkward for a moment. "My last roommate was the first girl to go missing."

Edward didn't know what to say. "Oh, I'm really sorry."

"Of course you aren't in anymore danger being my roommate. It's not like that's why people are disappearing. If that's why she'd have been the only one," Mae attempted to reassure Edward.

"Well, I'm pretty busy, Edeline, so I can't stay. Goodbye, sweetheart." Mustang wrapped Edward up in a hug. Ed was frozen in shock. He was sure his eyes were as wide as saucers. What the hell was the Colonel doing?

Edward sighed shallowly. It was a nice hug. It was unlike anything he'd felt in a long time. It was warm and comfortable. It was just so nice. 

But the chilling discomforting reality was that this was all fake. It was just a show and that hurt. It hurt a lot. This was all going to be over once the man who was doing this was caught.

Edward reached up and hugged the Colonel back. <>It's just for show... He told himself.

He repeated it like a mantra.

_It's just for show._

_It's just for show!_

_It's just for show!!!_

Edward didn't know if he should let go.

_I'm not hugging him! Edeline Mustang is!_

Edward released him and Mustang pulled away. "Goodbye, Edeline. Call me tomorrow. I'll see you soon, and you can tell me all about how you're liking the school."

Edward took in a deep breath. "Alright, Pops."

A vein bulged on the Colonel's forehead and he leaned in again. "Remember to cross your legs when sitting. It's simply ladylike."

Edward twitched. He didn't like this at all.

The Colonel turned to Mae and smiled. "It's nice to meet you. I'll leave you to take care of my sweet little girl."

Edward choked down a growl.

"Goodbye, Sir!" Mae smiled back as the Colonel left. As soon as he was out the door, she looked back at the only other person in the room, and her eyes glowed with mischief and she smirked at him. "Now let's get to know each other. I know a secret way onto the roof. It will be awesome, believe me."

Edward smirked back. He knew he was going to like her.

\---

"You know, if one of us falls off this roof, we're as good as dead," Edward said as he corrected himself after stumbling a bit.

"Then don't fall."

Edward chuckled. He climbed up to an area of flat roof to sit.

"Isn't it great?"

"Yeah, it's amazing."

"I know," Mae sighed and sat next to Ed. "You seem like a cool kid. I was expecting a stuck up brat, no offense of course."

"You barely know me?" Edward gave her a confused look.

"I'm good at reading people." She smiled. "And I could tell that you wanted to know about the murders and disappearances."

"I thought it was supposed to be a secret. How do you know what happened?" Ed asked as he kicked his feet a little.

"I lost my best friend. There was no way I wasn't going to find out what happened. And anyway, you can learn a lot by hanging in the shadows." Mae gave him a warm smile.

"You know, I'm really sorry for your loss, but why are you telling this to me?"

"Because I'm going to push you off the roof so you can't tell anyone my secret," Mae teased. "I'm telling you because we should be able to trust our friends and you will be sleeping in the same room as me."

"Oh, I guess I see that."

She sniffed beside him.

"Are you okay?"

"Nah... But what can you expect?" Mae rubbed her eyes. "So your dad isn't really your dad, right? He seems a bit stiff while hugging you."

_That's because he doesn't want me. He doesn't like me... Better yet, he probably hates me._

"I'm adopted. He's not exactly used to me yet."

"So it's recent?" Mae asked.

"Yeah, it is," Ed replied with a tired sigh.

"He'll get better with you in time. But why did you have to live with him? What happened to your family? And you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Ed shook his head. "It's fine. My dad left us when I was pretty young, too young to realise what was going on and my mom got sick..." Edward froze. He remembered the Colonel's instructions. "Sh- she died last year... She and Roy knew each other. They had been good friends when they were younger."

"So that's how it is..."

They stayed up there in silence for a long time.

Edward felt his chest tighten. He didn't want to lie about Mom. It hurt too much. He missed her so much and lying felt wrong. What if truth and lies melted together in time?

_No, I won't be here that long. I won't forget things about Mom like that and just replace them..._

Edward just sat there for a long while, not realising that there were tears going down his cheeks.

_...I miss her._

"We should probably go back in."

Ed jumped and wiped of his face. "Uh, yeah, that's probably best."

"Just so you know, if you ever want someone to talk to I'm here."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine." Edward was not going to be fine.

"Well, if you ever need to be alone climb up those vines I showed you or just tell me, got it?" Mae asked with a sincere expression.

"Yeah, I'll do that."

"But don't climb up here if you're crying. I wouldn't want you to fall to your death because your vision was blurry. I'd feel awful if that happened because of me."

They climbed back down, which turned out to be a lot harder than going up.

Ed dropped onto his bed once they reached the room again and had climbed in through the window. He sighed and rolled onto his side so that he was facing the wall. _I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry for everything... I'm sorry for lying about you... I'm sorry for getting Al stuck in that armour..._

Edward felt silent tears on his cheeks.

How did he get to this point? _I'm sorry for being weak!_

He had held it in too long. It had been right under the surface for so long and now the water's surface had been disturbed so the beast leapt from the depths.

He was drowning in this. His chest hurt. _Mom, I'm sorry... I'm sorry for killing you a second time..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There won't be any romantic relationship with Mae.


	4. Chapter 4

"Damn it..." Edward hadn't even made it to his second class without getting lost in one of the school's many corridors.

Everything was quiet. The others were in class or the study hall or the other places _where they were supposed to be!_

All Edward could do was wander the halls and hope he got lucky somewhere along the way. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Something was wrong. Something felt off. Shivers traveled down his spine, sending an uneasy feeling through his whole body.

He heard the gentle padding of approaching feet. "There you are." Relief washed over Ed. It was just Mae. He recognised her voice. Edward turned to meet her. "I thought I'd find you wandering the halls, unsure of where to go and in desperate need of my help," she said dramatically.

"How do you ever learn to navigate this place?" Edward said, not directly agreeing with her about needing help.

"It isn't too hard. First you need to memorize your hall pattern or whatever you wanna call it. After that you can figure out the rest of the halls, working your way through. You'll get it sooner than you think." She gave him a reassuring smile.

"I hope so. It makes my job here harder if I don't know how to get around this damn school."

Mae snorted. "Why do you sound so serious about 'your job'? It's just school. I guess you really are the prodigy they said you were. Oh, and be careful not to let them hear you cursing like that." She gave him a knowing wink.

"I hope that it isn't a bad thing that I'm a prodigy or whatever?" Ed asked.

"No. You're pretty cool even if you are a real weirdo," she said, smirking at him.

"Thanks a lot," Edward muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I said you were cool at least. That's a good thing?"

"Yeah, I guess I got that," Ed said with another eye roll.

"Yeah. Oh, hey, I know a shortcut to your next class. Follow me, Lina."

"Lina? I don't..." he trailed off, frowning. It was probably better than going by Ed. It was more feminine. "Whatever."

"Let's go or you'll be even later than you will be now."

"What about you?"

"I can just use you as an excuse."

"Wow, thanks," he said sarcastically.

"What? I can't let such a perfect excuse to ditch the first half of my class go by without snatching up the oppertunity. You understand, right?" She said it in a sweet, innocent voice.

"You know. You're not as sweet as you seem."

They walked in silence for a while after that. Ed just followed Mae, trusting her to get him to his class. He scanned the walls, jotting down every new thing in a map he was constructing in his head. His blood turned to ice when Mae screamed, though. He turned to her, seeing the way she trembled and gasped for breath. Her face was white and the smirk she had had before was completely gone. Something was wrong. Really, really wrong. "Mae?"

"She's dead..."

"Wha-" Edward cut himself of when he saw what she did. In the distance he saw a lump laying in the middle of the hall. It would have been easy to mistake for a bag at this distance, but Mae obviously knew better. "Mae, go find a teacher or anyone. Just go find an adult and tell them to get some help." He was trying to keep his voice calm because he could see how scared Mae was.

Mae just stood there, frozen. Her eyes wide and locked on the lump down the hall.

"Mae, go!" She flinched then turned and gave Ed a desperate look before she ran back the way they had come. Ed was hoping she had enough sense to listen to him and find help. He started moving towards the body, somehow still trying to convince himself that it was just someone's school bag. Getting closer revealed how unlucky he was. At this point he could clearly see the way blood was pooling around mutilated flesh. Both of the girl's arms had been removed and the stumps poured blood. His stomach twisted and knotted itself over and over, not giving him a moment of calm. He continued towards the body, seeing the torn and bloodied school uniform. He stopped at the point where the pool of blood had yet to reach. He hadn't meant to look, but when he did he saw the way the girl's face had a large _X_ carved into it. Her hair had obviously been grabbed in bunches and cut through. The choppy ends soaked in the pool of blood below the body.

A voice in Ed's head screamed at him to look away. The scene was too horrifying. He turned to face the wall, already having seen enough of the mutilated body to last him his whole lifetime. He froze when he saw the lockers, though. One was cracked open and a trail of blood came from there. He slowly made his way around the pool of blood, approaching the locker with a icy, foreboding feeling washing over every inch of his body.

Edward was too frozen and sick to move after he opened that locker door the rest of the way. He wanted to throw up. He could see the way two severed arms were stuffed into the locker's cubby, obviously needing to be broken to fit. At the bottom of the locker bloody locks of hair were heaped up. "No..." Edward choked out. On top of the hair two equally-sized objects sat. They looked like two marbles, but Edward knew they weren't. He felt his face go cold. His head spun, and his knees buckled.

"Edeline, get away from there!" Two arms caught Ed and pulled him away. He looked up into a pair of green eyes, gasping, a word at the edge of his lips.

"M..." He trailed off as he took in the rest of the face above him.

"It's okay, Dear. I'll take you somewhere safe. Mae is waiting for you at the nurse's office. You look ill. I'll take you there, Sweetie." Ed didn't fight her as she dragged him away. He could see the horror in her eyes. She didn't want to be there any more than he did. And she was right. He felt so sick.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this isn't really whump, but I'm sort of working up to the whump. I will get there! I promise! I have dark plans! 
> 
> So thank you for reading! 
> 
> Also if you can, please review! I hate to ask but they are so encouraging. And I like to know what you like about the story!


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